Book Launch of Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dhanak; First Time Novelization of a Children’s Film

In the august presence of Bollywood director Nagesh Kukunoor, Hetal Gada, Krrish Chhabria, Rajiv Laxman, the book launch of Dhanak took place at Story. This is the first time a children’s film has been novelized. The novelization has been done by Anushka Ravishankar.

The story of Dhanak revolves around Chotu and his sister Pari. Chotu is blind and Pari helps her brother in everything. She promises him that he will get his eyesight back before he turns nine. But how will the young girl keep her promise? She sees a poster with her favorite star Shahrukh Khan saying “Donate your eyes”. She writes to him asking for help. She also comes to know that the actor is in Rajasthan shooting for the film. She sets out on a road trip to meet the star and get back her brother’s eyesight.

When asked why he opted for the novelization of his film, Nagesh Kukunoor said “Well this has not been done before and I just wanted to brag about it. Jokes apart, this will be a good experience of actually knowing what the two kids were thinking. This way we can delve in their psyche. That will indeed be interesting” said the director.

Written by Nagesh Kukunoor, the film has been shot in Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2015.

Hetal Gada who plays Pari in the film said “I am honored that my debut film in a lead role is directed by Nagesh Kukunoor. Though I have worked in serials, working in a feature film is a completely different experience altogether”.